Woe to Ephraim and Jerusalem

28 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim,
Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the [a]verdant valleys,
To those who are overcome with wine!
Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one,
(A)Like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm,
Like a flood of mighty waters overflowing,
Who will bring them down to the earth with His hand.
The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim,
Will be trampled underfoot;
And the glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the [b]verdant valley,
Like the first fruit before the summer,
Which an observer sees;
He eats it up while it is still in his hand.

In that day the Lord of hosts will be
For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty
To the remnant of His people,
For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.

But they also (B)have erred through wine,
And through intoxicating drink are out of the way;
(C)The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink,
They are swallowed up by wine,
They are out of the way through intoxicating drink;
They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
For all tables are full of vomit and filth;
No place is clean.

“Whom(D) will he teach knowledge?
And whom will he make to understand the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just drawn from the breasts?
10 (E)For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little.”

11 For with (F)stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
12 To whom He said, “This is the (G)rest with which
You may cause the weary to rest,”
And, “This is the refreshing”;
Yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the Lord was to them,
“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little,”
That they might go and fall backward, and be broken
And snared and caught.

14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And with Sheol we are in agreement.
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
It will not come to us,
(H)For we have made lies our refuge,
And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”

A Cornerstone in Zion

16 Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I lay in Zion (I)a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.
17 Also I will make justice the measuring line,
And righteousness the plummet;
The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled,
And your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
Then you will be trampled down by it.
19 As often as it goes out it will take you;
For morning by morning it will pass over,
And by day and by night;
It will be a terror just to understand the report.”

20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount (J)Perazim,
He will be angry as in the Valley of (K)Gibeon—
That He may do His work, (L)His awesome work,
And bring to pass His act, His [c]unusual act.
22 Now therefore, do not be mockers,
Lest your bonds be made strong;
For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts,
(M)A [d]destruction determined even upon the whole earth.

Listen to the Teaching of God

23 Give ear and hear my voice,
Listen and hear my speech.
24 Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow?
Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?
25 When he has leveled its surface,
Does he not sow the black cummin
And scatter the cummin,
Plant the wheat in rows,
The barley in the appointed place,
And the [e]spelt in its place?
26 For He instructs him in right judgment,
His God teaches him.

27 For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin;
But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick,
And the cummin with a rod.
28 Bread flour must be ground;
Therefore he does not thresh it forever,
Break it with his cartwheel,
Or crush it with his horsemen.
29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts,
(N)Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in [f]guidance.

Woe to Jerusalem

29 “Woe (O)to [g]Ariel, to Ariel, the city (P)where David dwelt!
Add year to year;
Let feasts come around.
Yet I will distress Ariel;
There shall be heaviness and sorrow,
And it shall be to Me as Ariel.
I will encamp against you all around,
I will lay siege against you with a mound,
And I will raise siegeworks against you.
You shall be brought down,
You shall speak out of the ground;
Your speech shall be low, out of the dust;
Your voice shall be like a medium’s, (Q)out of the ground;
And your speech shall whisper out of the dust.

“Moreover the multitude of your (R)foes
Shall be like fine dust,
And the multitude of the terrible ones
Like (S)chaff that passes away;
Yes, it shall be (T)in an instant, suddenly.
(U)You will be punished by the Lord of hosts
With thunder and (V)earthquake and great noise,
With storm and tempest
And the flame of devouring fire.
(W)The multitude of all the nations who fight against [h]Ariel,
Even all who fight against her and her fortress,
And distress her,
Shall be (X)as a dream of a night vision.
(Y)It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams,
And look—he eats;
But he awakes, and his soul is still empty;
Or as when a thirsty man dreams,
And look—he drinks;
But he awakes, and indeed he is faint,
And his soul still craves:
So the multitude of all the nations shall be,
Who fight against Mount Zion.”

The Blindness of Disobedience

Pause and wonder!
Blind yourselves and be blind!
(Z)They are drunk, (AA)but not with wine;
They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.
10 For (AB)the Lord has poured out on you
The spirit of deep sleep,
And has (AC)closed your eyes, namely, the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, namely, (AD)the seers.

11 The whole vision has become to you like the words of a [i]book (AE)that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this, please.”

(AF)And he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”

12 Then the book is delivered to one who [j]is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.”

And he says, “I am not literate.”

13 Therefore the Lord said:

(AG)“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me (AH)with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
14 (AI)Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work
Among this people,
A marvelous work and a wonder;
(AJ)For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”

15 (AK)Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord,
And their works are in the dark;
(AL)They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”
16 Surely you have things turned around!
Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;
For shall the (AM)thing made say of him who made it,
“He did not make me”?
Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?

Future Recovery of Wisdom

17 Is it not yet a very little while
Till (AN)Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest?
18 (AO)In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book,
And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
19 (AP)The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord,
And (AQ)the poor among men shall rejoice
In the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the [k]terrible one is brought to nothing,
(AR)The scornful one is consumed,
And all who (AS)watch for iniquity are cut off—
21 Who make a man an offender by a word,
And (AT)lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
And turn aside the just (AU)by empty words.

22 Therefore thus says the Lord, (AV)who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:

“Jacob shall not now be (AW)ashamed,
Nor shall his face now grow pale;
23 But when he sees his children,
(AX)The work of My hands, in his midst,
They will hallow My name,
And hallow the Holy One of Jacob,
And fear the God of Israel.
24 These also (AY)who erred in spirit will come to understanding,
And those who complained will learn doctrine.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 28:1 Lit. valleys of fatness
  2. Isaiah 28:4 Lit. valley of fatness
  3. Isaiah 28:21 Lit. foreign
  4. Isaiah 28:22 Lit. complete end
  5. Isaiah 28:25 rye
  6. Isaiah 28:29 sound wisdom
  7. Isaiah 29:1 Jerusalem, lit. Lion of God
  8. Isaiah 29:7 Jerusalem
  9. Isaiah 29:11 scroll
  10. Isaiah 29:12 Lit. does not know books
  11. Isaiah 29:20 terrifying

Accused of Sedition

24 Now after (A)five days (B)Ananias the high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus. These gave evidence to the governor against Paul.

And when he was called upon, Tertullus began his accusation, saying: “Seeing that through you we enjoy great peace, and [a]prosperity is being brought to this nation by your foresight, we accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. Nevertheless, not to be tedious to you any further, I beg you to hear, by your [b]courtesy, a few words from us. (C)For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. (D)He even tried to profane the temple, and we seized him, [c]and wanted (E)to judge him according to our law. (F)But the commander Lysias came by and with great violence took him out of our hands, (G)commanding his accusers to come to you. By examining him yourself you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him.” And the Jews also [d]assented, maintaining that these things were so.

The Defense Before Felix

10 Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered: “Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself, 11 because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem (H)to worship. 12 (I)And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city. 13 Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. 14 But this I confess to you, that according to (J)the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the (K)God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in (L)the Law and in the Prophets. 15 (M)I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, (N)that there will be a resurrection [e]of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. 16 (O)This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

17 “Now after many years (P)I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation, 18 (Q)in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me (R)purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult. 19 (S)They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me. 20 Or else let those who are here themselves say [f]if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council, 21 unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, (T)‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.’ ”

Felix Procrastinates

22 But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the (U)Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, “When (V)Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case.” 23 So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and (W)told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him.

24 And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the (X)faith in Christ. 25 Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.” 26 Meanwhile he also hoped that (Y)money would be given him by Paul, [g]that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.

27 But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, (Z)wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 24:2 Or reforms are
  2. Acts 24:4 graciousness
  3. Acts 24:6 NU ends the sentence here and omits the rest of v. 6, all of v. 7, and the first clause of v. 8.
  4. Acts 24:9 NU, M joined the attack
  5. Acts 24:15 NU omits of the dead
  6. Acts 24:20 NU, M what wrongdoing they found
  7. Acts 24:26 NU omits that he might release him

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